Ed! endorsed. . .

To Who it may Concern,

My name is Cynthia Burns and along with my husband Michael, we pastor Christian Joy Fellowship Church in Bellmore, NY. I have known Ed Boyle for twenty-two years and he is a dear friend and great encourager to me. Ed has worked with us in the ministry for the past 22 years as an teacher to our children's department, advisor, office and bookstore manager, Administrative Assistant and now serves upon our Board of Directors. One thing we know about Ed is he is very passionate about Chess. He takes great joy in playing as well as recruiting the next generation to love the game. He has tutored many children in our church in the rules of chess. (My son included)

During the time that Ed was part of our staff, He had many job responsibilities such as, Marketing for conferences, Audio and visual production, graphic design, purchasing for bookstore and office, and I know to many this is important, the art of excellence with a limited budget.

Memories of the Chess Past:

Back in 1975-6 I was living outside NYC and two of my adult students, George (1525 USCF) and Saul (1275 USCF), wanted to play in a Saturday Quad in Queens NY - and wanted me to go with them and also play. At that time, I was just over 1700, so there was no chance I would have to play George. I never cared for Queens to start with, but George once lived there and said he knew where the place was.

The Thursday before the tournament, I got sick as a dog and stayed home Friday from work. I didn't go to the chess club that night either. To make things worse, a huge storm rolled in that night and I couldn't sleep.

It's dark when I get up on Saturday and I drive to Saul's house. He's not ready yet. So I go gather up George, and pick up Saul on the way back. The rain is pouring down and I'm sick. After an hour driving, we get near the place.

"I think it is somewhere around here," George says.

Thanks, George, I think sardonically. At last we find it, but there is no parking, except for what feels about half mile away. As we walk in the rain, I pass a couple of burned out vehicles up on cinder blocks. We also pass a condemned building.

I want to go home.

We enter the tournament dripping all over the floor. There was about 32 players, 8 Sections.

I decide I don't like this playing hall.

The pairing sheet goes up and my first opponent is George! What the heck? We both went to the TD but he would not switch me so we can be in different Quads. We have to play.

And George beats me.

Between rounds, I start talking to a gentleman, Alan, who said his son was playing. The kid is about 10 or 11, and as I watch the end of his first round, it looks like he is playing really well.

We get ready for the next round, and I have to play the guy that George is tied with.

Twenty moves later, I'm a piece and pawn down, and my opponent looks up and tells me I should resign and not waste his time.

We were in a state of shock! Half the players there heard him say it. George nearly punched the guy out. I refused to resign, played until 1 move to mate, and then let the clock run out to lose on time. This guy continues to make more comments during the game. Then, he and George got into a yelling match in the hallway that the TD had to break up. Ironically, they had to play each other in Round 3 for the title.

Between all of this going on, I noticed the 10 year-old drew his second game for 1.5 points.

By round 3 I'm playing to avoid last place. My opponent had also lost every game. The heck with it, I figure. . .at move 15 I offer a draw. It's accepted.

As I sit around waiting for Saul and George, I spend time talking to Alan, the kids' dad. We talk about scholastic chess, teaching kids as compared to adults and what happened to me today. At some point, his son wins again taking the trophy for the quad. Alan asked me if I would play his son a speed game and let him know what I thought.

Not a problem, he is just a kid. What can he be, about 1300?

We play and the kid stomps me.

I figure I'm sick and distracted with everything that happened today so I offer another game, vowing to pay closer attention.

The kid creams me again.

This is pathetic! “One more?", I query, as I silently commit my full resources to beating this kid. The kid agrees and we play.

I get smoked again!

“Alan,” I say, “I don't know who your kid is, but he is going to be a good one! What Quad did he play in?”

"They put him in Quad 2. I hope next time he can make the top Quad."

"What's your son's name?"

"Joel. Joel Benjamin."

Later that day, we trek home with 2 trophies, 1 bruised ego, and 1 brush with future greatness.

And it was still raining.

More Later -

Ed!

Berry for USCF Executive Board!

Today I'm announcing my endorsement of fellow Oklahoman Jim Berry for USCF Executive Board. He can bring many good things to chess at the national level.

Furthermore, while many folks have talked about chess players rejoining the OCA, I want to encourage OCA and OSCO members to do what I am doing – send in your $10 to join/rejoin the OCF and make an earnest effort to play and support OCF tournaments. In fact, I am starting the OCA-F Scholastic Membership Fund - A Fund to help underprivileged school children play in All Oklahoma Tournaments by overcoming the club membership fee barrier - and receive a great magazine!

Click here to go to the OCA-F Scholastic Membership Fund website see how you can join me in the effort!

Why is this important? Listen to the words of David MacEnulty: "[The importance of adults showing children] how thinking, caring adults behave. Every adult a child encounters is a teacher, like it or not. We can teach thoughtlessness, arrogance, rudeness, dishonesty, and a whole host of other horrendous behaviors, or we can teach thoughtfulness, care, concern, truthfulness, respect, humility, humor, and a whole host of other wonderful behaviors we want the children to emulate."

Who is David MacEnulty? If you haven't seen the A&E movie about David, "Knights of the South Bronx", it is well worth watching.

Let's unite and support all Oklahoma chess and move on from the old Devisive Disenfranchisement ways. We need a chess community where all Oklahoma chess players have a voice in their future!

More later -

Ed!

Fear mongering?

I've heard some folks accuse me of "fear mongering" by pointing out the tactics of the Deny the Vote proponents, but is it fear mongering to shine a light on their statements? Look at these quotes made in the Oklahoma Chess Forum by 3 different posters:

"I really think the upcoming vote in June is about much more than the voting age. It is probably just as much a form of Justice in the eyes of so many."

" ... its time for Oklahoma's USCF chess players to band together and go vote them[OCA Board] out of office."

"The proposed voting restriction for those 16 and over in the OCA is all about one thing, in my opinion. It is about prepping the OCA for further action; specifically, voting the current leadership out of office without being concerned about a horde of OCA youngsters overwhelming the vote in favor of the current leadership. This is what Frank has been talking about all along--I believe."

I ask you, who's spreading the fear?

I've heard some folks complain because I don't go into the Oklahoma Chess Forum and debate the issues there, but here's a fact: Last year, while debating an issue with one of these folks, they physically threatened me! Click this link to read it! Why in the world would I go back into an environment like that?

I truly regret even having to go back and revisit some of these old wounds, but some folks just won't leave it alone and I won't be bullied anymore. . .

I'm ready to move on and to help Oklahoma chess move onto a bright future! Look for some announcements soon to help us achieve that goal!


More later -
Ed!

Let's model OK chess after the best!

Here's a fact: Two of the most successful and revered chess clubs in the United States, the Boylston Chess Club of Boston and the Mechanics Institute in San Francisco, both have Youth members and both allow the Youth vote.

Now, it has always been my experience that if you want to succeed, you should find someone who is already successful and model yourself after them. Who better to model Oklahoma chess after than these 2 giants in the chess world?

It's been suggested that maybe we should model our voting policy after the USCF 16 year old voting policy, but I don't know of anyone who thinks the USCF model is working, unless of course you consider bleak finances and flat adult membership successful. . .

Right now, Youth memberships account for 42% of all membership revenues for the USCF and 60% of the total membership numbers!

I ask you now: Where do some folks get the idea that the USCF is an adult organization that only adults get a say?

And unlike the adult USCF Tournaments, which always lose money (except for 1 tournament in 2006), during 2006, the USCF Youth Tournaments netted around 172K! Further, despite a flat adult membership for several years, the Youth memberships have increased over 3100 members the past two years. You'd think that the adult USCF members would be appreciative of their Youthful counterparts and more importantly, the parents of the Youth who provide the money in the first place!

Yet the Deny the Vote proposal submitted to the OCA doesn't even allow for the parent's to vote in place of their Youth! If you argue that a Youth can't make an informed decision, at least let the parent represent the Youth's interests. Who better than a parent to represent the interest of their own child? Yet, a compromise to allow the parents to do just this was rejected out of hand! Some people have suggested that the parents join OCA and the USCF - or get even more expensive family memberships - just so they can vote for their Youth. The problem is that you have to pay twice as much or more - once for yourself and once for your Youth or family - just to vote once! How fair is that?

Finally, you'd be hard pressed to find a USCF state chapter that wants to do what is being proposed by this Deny the Vote motion.

So here's the question: Why can't we here in Oklahoma figure out that to be successful, maybe we should model our Youth vote policy after 2 of most famous and successful chess clubs in America and practically all of the USCF state chapters?

More later -
Ed!

Some anecdotes. . .

In the 1975 I played in the Canadian Open in Toronto Canada. At that Tournament, a top US GM "borrowed" my clock to play his tournament games. Problem was, he never asked, and it was missing for a few days until I saw the clock playing on Board 3 while I was playing on board 103. The TD had to retrieve it for me!

I actually learned to play chess at age seven or eight years old from a friend. Within a month I was beating him and his dad. Later I joined school chess team in 9th Grade. Played 2nd board in inter-school matches (all unrated).

But my first tournament was a birthday present from my mom! She saw an add in the local paper for The Islip NY Chess Club. They were holding a 5 round tournament for the weekend of Sept 16-17, 1972. I entered, joined the USCF, scored 1-2-2 (Yes, 2 draws!) and took 2nd UNR. My first rating was 1362/5, and my second was 1422/10.

OCA Board Politics
I recently heard the Fallacy of the False Analogy used against the Youth Vote in the OCA. Seems someone was equating voting in OCA elections with voting at national, state and local elections.

Seriously folks, we aren't asking the Youth to vote on matters of national security or more importantly, tax policy, we're talking about letting our Youth vote on a board game! The argument against the Youth vote fails not just because I say so. . .it's because the two situations are not the same at all. . .

More later -

Ed

Save Oklahoma Chess!

As you may have heard, the OCF and OCA made up at last.

From what I can see, it means that many of the old school hardliners, the one who loathe Mike Swatek and Chuck Unruh, can now run for the board. I don't know if you look at the OK Chess Forum, but some OCF players indicated they have joined the OCA for no other reason then to vote in this election! At least one non-member even suggested that people enter the first round of the State Championship, play one game and then drop out -- and then vote the next morning! Some of them are so bold, they've openly declared their scheme right on those forums!

In light of this, I'm running for the OCA Policy Board.

I've talked to a few OSCO leaders and they think it is a good idea that I run for office now. The more we talked, the more we agreed the 16-year-old disenfranchisement bylaw proposal is bad policy. The OCA never had a voting age before, and if the youth voters are disenfranchised. . .who will represent their interests?

We can already see what this type of anti-chess-youth attitude is doing at the national level with the USCF. Sam Sloan is so anti-chess-youth that members are leaving in droves. What are these guys so afraid of, anyway? A bunch of 12 years olds?

If this bylaw passes in Oklahoma, three things will happen:

• We'll disenfranchise our youth.
• We'll disillusion our youth.
• Our youth will disassociate from chess.
  

You can't tell our youth we'll take their money but we won't take them seriously. Our chess youth are smart. We aren't talking about a bunch of X-Box slackers! They're chess players! They'll take their numbers, their parent - and their parents money - and go where they are appreciated!

I hope you and everyone will vote for me for the OCA Policy Board. More later!

- Ed